Allen simply too much for Waco Midway in blowout as Tisdale, Wease shine once again

Zayteak McGhee was overwhelmed with joy as he received words of congratulations from his Allen teammates after the Eagle junior recovered a fumble by Waco Midway returner Eli Garvin at the Panther 18-yard line on the opening kickoff in the third quarter.

McGhee’s teammates returned the favor a short time later as Grant Tisdale ran the quarterback keeper for a 1-yard touchdown run and a 17-0 Allen lead.

And the Eagles were just warming up.

That fumble recovery and touchdown set up a 34-point third quarter for Allen, which generated five turnovers on the day on its way to a convincing 51-7 rout of Midway in a Class 6A Division 1 quarterfinal at chilly McLane Stadium on Saturday afternoon.

“I saw the ball pop out of his arms, and I was like, ‘I’m not going to get it,’” McGhee said. “Then I saw him drop it again, and was like, ‘Whoa.’ I’m glad that I got it.”

Allen coach Terry Gambill said the kickoff and subsequent fumble recovery was executed perfectly by his players.

“Our plan was that we were going to kick it deep right,” he said. “From there, if those opportunities present themselves, you’ve got to take advantage of them. They put the ball on the ground and we recovered it.

“It was really huge.”

Allen (14-0) will play the Southlake Carroll/Duncanville winner in next week’s state semifinals at a date and site to be determined. Carroll and Duncanville were still playing at the time of print.

Mo Perkins had two of Allen’s four interceptions on the day, the latter of which he caught on a pass intended for Parker Nall at the Eagle 3-yard line with 2:06 remaining in the first half, and Allen leading 10-0.

“The first one, I saw the ball in the air and had to make a play,” Perkins said. “I didn’t have a pick all year. So, that was my chance. I succeeded. After my (second interception), I wanted to go celebrate with my team.”

Allen got its first touchdown on a 7-yard quarterback keeper by Tisdale for a 7-0 Eagles lead with 4:05 remaining in the first quarter.

Midway had a nice drive working on the ensuing set of plays but Perkins jumped in front of a pass intended for Demarcus Degrate at the 5-yard line, and that led to a James Griffith 33-yard field goal, for a 10-0 Allen lead with 7:33 left in the first half.

Perkins’ second interception a few minutes later not only ensure that Allen would maintain its two-possession lead but also gave the Eagles all of the momentum heading into the second half.

Tisdale accounted for all three of Allen’s offensive touchdowns in the third quarter on passes of 14 yards and 24 yards to Theo Wease Jr. in addition to his 1-yard rushing TD to commence the scoring feast for the Eagles who led 44-7 after the third quarter.

“Speechless,” Wease Jr. said. “It was some momentum that I had never experienced before.”

Tisdale rushed for 58 yards on 15 carries and completed seven of 10 passes for 75 yards with four total touchdowns. Celdon Manning added 93 rushing yards on 15 carries.

Waco Midway’s James Fullbright led all rushers with 194 yards.

Cornelius Williams returned an interception 85 yards for a touchdown for the final Allen score in that quarter and Jett Waters sealed the victory with the Eagles’ fifth takeaway on an interception with 5:33 remaining in the second half.

“We just kept fighting and fighting,” Perkins said. “We had some adversity that we faced. But we took care of business after that. We knew what we had to do.”

Offensive player of the game: Tisdale finished with four total touchdowns on the day before being replaced by backup Raylen Sharpe in the fourth quarter.

Defensive player of the game: This honor could be shared by a lot of Allen players but the nod will go to Perkins whose two first-half interceptions stalled two potential scoring drives for the Eagles, who led 10-0 at the half.

Unsung hero of the game: Manning jump-started the Eagle offense on their second drive of the game with a 20-yard run, and Allen cashed in a short time later, on Tisdale’s 7-yard quarterback keeper, for a 7-0 lead in the first quarter.

What’s next? Allen will play the Duncanville/Southlake Carroll winner in next week’s state semifinal at a site and date to be determined.

This story was originally published December 8, 2018 at 5:47 PM.